shook her head. ‘I don’t have a mother. Or a father.’ She kept her voice light, the way she’d learned to do. ‘I’m just an orphan girl.’
His eyes narrowed. Darkened. He winced, as if she’d said something which had caused him pain.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said softly and reached out to brush the tip of his thumb over her lips. ‘So sorry.’
The weirdest thing was that Leila wasn’t sure if he was talking to her, or talking to himself. But suddenly she didn’t care because it was happening—just like in all the films she’d seen. He was reaching out and pulling her into his arms and she could feel the heat of his body as he moulded it against her. He framed her face with the palms of his hands and now his mouth was coming down towards hers. He seemed to be moving in slow motion, and Leila felt weak with excitement as her lips parted eagerly to meet his.
Because for the first time in her life, a man was going to kiss her.
Copyright © 2014 by Sharon Kendrick
A SEAL’s Salvation
Tawny Weber
“What exactly do you think you’re doing?”
“Seducing you.”
Damn. That was what Brody had been afraid of.
“You were trying to pretend we’re just friends. Except we aren’t,” Genna murmured. “What we are is crazy attracted to each other. We need to act on that attraction … The total act, with you naked. I’m willing to be on top if you’re still holding on to that friendship myth of yours. That way you can tell yourself I took advantage.”
He made some sort of choking sound, sure if he had any blood left in his brain it would have been words of protest.
Then Genna let her dress fall to the floor. Brody actually gulped trying not to swallow his tongue.
She was gorgeous.
Ivory limbs glowed like silk, the long sleek length of her interrupted by tiny pieces of black lace. He didn’t know where to start. At the top, where the lace cupped the gentle slope of her breasts. Or at the bottom, where it was barely held in place by two tiny strings.
His gaze as hot as the blood rushing through his body, he decided to settle for the middle. At the cherry-red jewel decorating her belly button.
Screw friendship. And screw good sense.
He was gonna let Genna Reilly seduce him …
USA TODAY bestselling author Tawny Weber has been writing sassy, sexy romances since her first Mills & Boon® Blaze® was published in 2007. A fan of Johnny Depp, cupcakes and color coordination, she spends a lot of her time shopping for cute shoes, scrap-booking and hanging out on Facebook.
Come by and visit her website, www.tawnyweber.com, for hunky contests, delicious recipes and lots of fun.
To Birgit.
Here’s to many fabulous books.
I think we’re going to have a lot of fun together!
Contents
1
Ten Years Before
“GENNA, YOU’RE CRAZY. You don’t have to do this.”
“Of course I do. You dared me.” Genna Reilly gave her best friend a wide-eyed look. The one she used whenever she wanted to appear extra sweet and innocent.
The sweet part was usually an act. The innocent part was pure truth, though. But fingers crossed, tonight was going to change that.
“I didn’t dare you. Dina did. You could just take the truth instead. C’mon, I’ll even ask a different question,” Macy said, her desperate tone matching the intense worry in her eyes. She grabbed both of Genna’s hands, hanging on tight as if her body weight could anchor her to this spot. Since Genna was a lean, mean five-ten and Macy topped out at five-two, as anchors went, the girl wasn’t very effective.
“That’s not how the game is played,” Genna said, carefully extricating her hands, not wanting to hurt Macy but desperately wanting to be gone already.
She’d had no idea tonight’s slumber party would turn wild. Oh, sure, the potential was there. That’s why they always had sleepovers at Dina’s, because her mom fell asleep by ten and didn’t do spot breathalyzer inspections like Genna’s dad. It was easy to sneak out and do fun things. Like play truth or dare.
She’d figured on a fun weekend with three of her best friends, one of the last leading up to graduation. But she’d had no idea it would be this fun.
She needed to do this. Now, while the anticipation was still zinging through her system, making her feel brave enough to take on the world. Or, in this case, to take down the sexiest bad boy of Bedford, California.
She wanted Brody Lane.
But he had practically made a career of ignoring her existence.
Time to end that.
Class vice president, squad cheer captain and the daughter of one of the most influential men in town, at seventeen Genna was no stranger to attention. Her exotic looks, long silky black hair and sky-blue eyes ensured that she got plenty of male attention, and not only in her high school classes. Nope, even though they were three years her senior, her brother’s friends were always staring and flirting with her, too.
But she wasn’t interested in any of them.
Not the boys in school.
Not the guys her brother ran with.
Not until he’d started hanging out with Brody last winter.
For the first time in her charmed life, Genna was smitten. Hooked. Hot....
Over a guy who was deemed off-limits. Not only by her parents, who were ridiculously overprotective.